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A Sectional Confession of Faith

Gregory Thaumaturgus

Section 9

About this work

Author: Gregory Thaumaturgus

IX.

The same position we hold respecting the Spirit

‹ Section 8 Section 10 ›

,

who

has

that

unity

with

the

Son

which

the

Son

has

with

the

Father

.

Wherefore

let

the

hypostasis

of

the

Father

be

discriminated

by

the

appellation

of

God

;

but

let

not

the

Son

be

cut

off

from

this

appellation

,

for

He

is

of

God

.

Again

,

let

the

person

of

the

Son

also

be

discriminated

by

the

appellation

of

Lord

;

only

let

not

God

be

dissociated

from

that

,

for

He

is

Lord

as

being

the

Father

of

the

Lord

.

And

as

it

is

proper

to

the

Son

to

exercise

lordship

,

for

He

it

is

that

made

(

all

things

)

by

Himself

,

and

now

rules

the

things

that

were

made

,

while

at

the

same

time

the

Father

has

a

prior

possession

of

that

property

,

inasmuch

as

He

is

the

Father

of

Him

who

is

Lord

;

so

we

speak

of

the

Trinity

as

One

God

,

and

yet

not

as

if

we

made

the

one

by

a

synthesis

of

three

:

for

the

subsistence

that

is

constituted

by

synthesis

is

something

altogether

partitive

and

imperfect

.

But

just

as

the

designation

Father

is

the

expression

of

originality

and

generation

,

so

the

designation

Son

is

the

expression

of

the

image

and

offspring

of

the

Father

.

Hence

,

if

one

were

to

ask

how

there

is

but

One

God

,

if

there

is

also

a

God

of

God

,

we

would

reply

that

that

is

a

term

proper

to

the

idea

of

original

causation

,

so

far

as

the

Father

is

the

one

First

Cause

.

And

if

one

were

also

to

put

the

question

,

how

there

is

but

One

Lord

,

if

the

Father

also

is

Lord

,

we

might

answer

that

again

by

saying

that

He

is

so

in

so

far

as

He

is

the

Father

of

the

Lord

;

and

this

difficulty

shall

meet

us

no

longer

.

Notes

1
μέρος γὰρ ἅπαν ἀτελὲς τὸ συνθεσεως ὑφιστάμενον.
2
ἀρχῆς.
3
ἀρχή.